Police were called to the store about 4:42 p.m. for a report of a theft in progress. Arriving there, police found an off-duty state trooper had pinned the theft suspect, identified in court documents as Lenehan, to the ground on First Street Extension.

The trooper told investigators he had gone to the store to buy propane, and, while he was outside the store with a clerk, he noticed a man enter the business with the hood of his sweatshirt up around his head despite the warm weather. The trooper saw the man exit with a bulge in his sweatshirt pocket, and the clerk discovered that a cash box was missing when he re-entered the store.

The trooper chased and captured the suspect and waited for borough police to arrive.

Police said Lenehan had a wad of cash in a sweatshirt pocket, as well as a box containing gold earrings. He reportedly was carrying a used syringe and a spoon – commonly used to prepare heroin – in a front pocket of his jeans.

Investigators noticed coins scattered in the roadway in the area of the chase and later found the stolen cash box in brush along First Street Extension. Police said the coins found along the road and the cash Lenehan was carrying totaled $277.80.

Police obtained surveillance footage of the incident from the store’s owner.